Convertible vehicle



A 1941- N. w. AUGUSTINE CONVERTIBLE VEHICLE FiledSept. 2o, 1939 2Sheets-Sheet 1 mm E Envett r Z14 Gttorucgs Aug. 26, 1941. N. w.AUGUSTINE CONVERTIBLE VEHICLE 2 SheetS -Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 20, 1939Patented Aug. 26, 1941 VUNITED STATES PATENT osrics CONVERTIBLE vEnIoLENathaniel W. Augustine, Bellefontaine, Ohio, as-v signer to The A. J.Miller Company, Bellefontaine, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio ApplicationSeptember 20, 1939, Serial No. 295,797

9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in convertible vehicles, it moreespecially relating to means for converting a funeral vehicle such as ahearse to an ambulance or invalid car.

An object of the invention is to provide fold- 'ing seats for attendantssuch as physicians or nurses when the vehicle is in use as an ambulance;these seats when not in use, as when the vehicle is'converted to ahearse, being disposed when folded in a compartment lower than the flooron. whichthe casket rests.

. A further object is to provide means to utilize the compartment inwhich the folded seats are disposed as a lower step for the attendantwhen carrying a patient into the vehicle on a stretcher.

A further object isto provide an arrangement whereby when the vehicle isconverted from a hearse to an ambulance it will be comfortable for, boththe attendants and the patient without increasing the overall height ofthe vehicle; a further and more specific object of the invention in thisconnection bein 'to provide a depression or compartmentfor the legs ofthe attendants below the floor level of the vehicle which also acts as astorage place for the seats for the attendants when the vehicle is inthe form of a hearse.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of the floor of a vehicle when thesame is arranged as a hearse.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is -a fragmentary plan view similar to 1 but with some of theparts in a difierent working position. In this view the vehicle has beenconverted to the ambulance form.

Fig. 5 is a partial longitudinal section similar to Fig. 2 with some ofthe parts in a different working position.

Fig. 6 is a view of a portion of Fig. 5 showing the manner in which theseat is made ready for folding.

. Referring to the drawings, a floor plan only of a vehicle is shown inFig. 1 with the parts arranged to adapt the vehicle for use as a funeralcar. In Fig. 1 the forward end or drivers compartment is at the left endof the figure and the casket may be loaded into the vehicle from theopposite or rear end (right end of Fig. 1), the casket being rolled inover rollers of well known form such as indicated at I, I, I, la, andlb. A portionof the floor is left undisturbed in th change-overoperation.

This portion is 'indi- 5.

cated at 2, and carries one of the rollers indicated at I. The vehicleis provided with side entrances such as indicated .at 3 on the righthandside of the vehicle, and at 4 on the lefthand side, these entrancesbeing shown in broken lines.

The reason for converting a funeral car to an ambulance is an obviousone because of the different uses to which the vehicle may be put, butone of the functions for the manner as described in this invention is toconceal certain inside appearances of a funeral car when the vehicle isserving as an ambulance, it having been found that patients object tothe sight of casket rollers.

In view of the fact that an emergency call for an invalid vehicle leavesver little time for conversion, the means for making the conversion isdesigned to require a minimum of time and. at the same time efi'ectivelyconceal certain such equipment that would remind a patient'of a funeralvehicle.

Referring to Fig. 2, the floor level is elevated to clear the up-curvedportion 5' of the vehicle frame 5. This floor level is known as thecasket table, and all the movable parts of the floor that enter intothe-conversion are at the same floor level. The upper or visible part ofthe flooring may be of wood, the'dif ferent sections of which aretrimmed with moulding I,

v One of such movable floor sections is indicated at 8, and inthis caseis provided with five of the casket rollers I. This floor section 8 isadjacent the rear door of the vehicle and is supported on a formed sheetmetal support 9, which support 9 is supported by the frame, one of thesupports being a wooden rear transverse member If] shown in Fig. 2. Bylifting the floor section 8 by one of the ringer holds II, the floorsection 8 may be inverted and again lowered, the inverting operationproviding that the casketv rollers on this section Bare in inoperativepositions since they are now on the lower side of the floor section 8 asshown by the broken line in Fig. 4. To accommodate the casket rollers Iwhen the floor section 8 is inverted and to provide that, when inverted,the floor section 8 remains flush with the undisturbed fioo'r portion 2,the supporting sheet metal member 9 is provided with depressions I2,Fig. 2.

To facilitate the inverting of the floor section 8, use is made of apair of connecting bars I3 hingedly connected to stationary members It,Fig. 1, and at their other ends to hinge members It attached to thefloor section. These hinge members are preferably depressed so as to liebelow the floor line, there being a groove [6 formed in the floorportion 2 to accommodate the links 13.

For the inversion of the casket rollers 1 along the left-hand side ofthe floor, Fig. 1, a floor section II is provided. This section I!extends longitudinally of the floor at one side of the floor from thesection 18 to the forward end of the floor and to enable it to beinverted to the position shown in Fig. 4 links I3 pivoted to stationarymembers 14' and hinge members l5 are employed. In Fig. 1 the roller sideis uppermost while in Fig. 4 the inversion has been made whereby thecasket rollers I" are turned downwardly. Depressions l8 and I9 areformed in the forward portion of the sheet metal support 9 to receivethe casket rollers I", the depression I!) under the central roller beingelongated forwardly to provide clearance for the fingers when thefingers are inserted through the hand holds 2!). The forward end of thesheet metal support 9 is supported on wooden members 2| and 22 which inturn rest on a sheet metal member 23 and spacers, one of which is shownat 24, resting on the frame member 5.

One of the reasons for the curvature of the frame 5 as shown is to clearthe rear axle (not shown) and to reduce the overall height of thevehicle. The floor level necessarily is placed quite close to the upperportion of the curve 5 of the frame 5, and above the frame 5 at thenormal elevation thereof such as at 5" a considerable space is provided.This space is utilized in the present invention in two ways: First, itprovides a compartment in which the folded seats are disposed; second, astep is provided at a point intermediate of the ground and the floorlevel; third, it provides a space for the legs of the attendants whenthe vehicle has been converted into an ambulance.

In the upper left-hand portion of Fig. 1 which represents the appearanceof the floor near the right-hand side entrance 3 when the vehicle isarranged as a hearse, there is provided a pair of movable floor sections25 and 26, each of which in the present case is provided with a casketroller indicated respectively at In and lb. Preferably, each floorsection 25 and 26 is hingedly connected to the fixed part 2 of thefloor, one hinge being indicated at 21, Fig. 5, for the floor section 25whereby that floor section may be swung upwardly and forwardly asindicated by the dot-dash arc 2B, and the hinge 29, Fig. 5, to allow thefloor section 26 to swing upwardly and rearwardly as indicated by thedot-dash are 39. When the floor section 25 is swung upwardly andforwardly as shown in Fig. 5 the floor section rests against a verticalpartition represented at 3| dividing the drivers compertinent from themain part of the vehicle thereby concealing the casket roller la on thisfloor section from view. Also, it exposes the cushion 52 which isattached to the underneath Side of the floor section 25.

When the floor section 26 is swung upwardly and rearwardly as shown inFig. 5 a portion of the weight is born by the hinge 29 and casket rollerI thereby concealing this casket roller and the casket roller lb securedto the floor section 26. In placing the floor section 26 as shown whoutilizes the back cushion 32 and is shown in position in Fig. 5. Thisseat 35 is disposed in the seat compartment 36 when the vehicle isserving as a hearse and is brought upwardly to position and retained atthat position by the insertion of pins, one of which is shown at 31 inFig. 5 in vertically disposed openings in the supporting member 2!. Therearward end of the seat 35 is braced by the hinged brace 38.

It will be seen in Fig. 5 from the position of the seats 26' and 35 thatthe space in the seat compartment 36 is utilized as leg room for theattendants. Therefore, the attendants when seated are at but slightlyhigher elevation than the floor level and therefore have ample head roomeven with the low overall height such as desired for vehicles of thisclass.

Referring to Fig. 4 which shows a floor plan as arranged for anambulance, a support for the movable hinged floor sections 25 and 2G isprovided by a riser member 39 (see also Fig. 3) hingedly connected to awooden strip 4!] attached to the sheet metal under-floor 23. Aspreviously described, the space 36 known as the seat compartmentutilizes the space between the floor level and the space above thestraight portions 5 of the frame, and when the hinged sections 25 and 26are arranged for the ambulance form the hinged riser 39 is swungdownwardly into position to complete the floor of the compartment 36. Asshown in Fig. 3 the outer face of the hinged riser 39 may be coveredwith rubber moulding il to correspond with a similar covering 22 in thefixed portion of the compartment 36.

In the operation of converting the vehicle from the arrangement as shownin Fig. l, which is for funeral car purposes, all of the casket rollersbeing uppermost, the floor sections 8 and Il' are inverted and againlowered in place as described. The floor section 25 is swung upwardlyand forwardly to the position as shown in Fig. 5. The forward seat israised and secured in place by the insertion of the pins 3'! in theopenings in the member 2i. The floor section 25 is inverted, Fig. 5, andthe seat back 33 raised to position, after which the hinged supportingriser 39 is swung downwardly into place. The appearance of the seatswhen the floor sections 25 and 26 are returned to the position shown inFig. l is shown by broken lines in Fig. 2.

Applicant has filed a divisional application for the subject matter ofthe claims relating to the roller-ways, which claims'were erased fromthe present application because of a requirement for division, thisdivisional application being Serial No. 347,102 filed July 24, 1940.

It will be noted from Fig. 6 that the seat 35 may be positioned againstthe back 32 carried by the floor section 25, this being to enable theseat 35 to be folded out of the way of attendants carrying a cot so thatthe attendants can step into the compartment and have ample room topermit passage therethrough.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a convertible vehicle of the character described, a pair of hingedfioor sections, seats for each of said floor sections, a hinged riser toprovide a support for said floor sections when closed, said riser beingadapted to be swung downwardly to form a part of the floor of acompartment beneath said floor sections, and another floor compartmentmember beneath said hinged floor sections to cooperate with said riserto complete the floor of the compartment.

2. In a convertible vehicle of the character described, a pair of hingedfloor sections one of which is adapted to swing rearwardly and the otherforwardly, a seat on one side of one of said hinged floor sections, ahinged seat for the other floor section, a compartment to receive saidseats when said floor sections are swung to closed positions, a hingedriser in said compartment to provide a support for the said hinged floorsections when closed and adapted to be swung downwardly to complete thefloor of the compartment.

3. In a convertible vehicle of the character described, a hinged floorsection, a seat back associated with said floor section, a compartmentbelow said floor section to receive the seat back when said floorsection is in closed position, said compartment acting as aleg-receiving space for attendants when said floor section is swung toopen position, and movable means to form a floor member for saidcompartment when said hinged floor section is in open position and toform a support for said hinged floor section when said hinged floorsection is swung to closed position.

4. In a convertible vehicle of the character described, a pair of hingedfloor sections, a seat associated with each of said floor sections, ahinged back associated with each of said floor sections, a compartmentbelow said floor sections to receive the seats and backs when said floorsections are in closed position, said compartment acting as aleg-receiving space for attendants when said floor sections are swung toopen position and the seats and backs positioned to receive occupants,and movable means to form a floor member for said compartment when saidfloor sections and their seats and backs are in open position and toform a support for said hinged floor sections when said hinged floorsections are swung to closed position.

5. In a convertible vehicle of the character described, a hinged floorsection, a seat and back associated with said floor section, acompartment below said floor section to receive the seat and back whensaid floor section is in closed position, said compartment acting as aleg-receiving space for attendants when said floor section is swung toopen position, said back being hinged so as to be swung to uprightposition when said floor section is in open position, and means forsupporting said seat such as to permit it to be positioned against saidback to provide a clearance space in said compartment.

6. In a convertible vehicle of the character described, a pair of hingedfloor sections one adapted to be swung rearwardly and the otherforwardly, a seat and a back associated with each of said floorsections, the seat for the rear floor section being located directlythereon and the back hinged thereto, the back associated with theforward lower section being located directly thereon and the seatsupported independently thereof but foldable against the associated backto permit it to be positioned'out of the way of attendants entering thevehicle through said compartment.

7. In a convertible vehicle of the character described, a pair of hingedfloor sections one of which is adapted to swing rearwardly and the otherforwardly, one of said hinged floor sections having a seat on one sidethereof, a hinged seat for the other floor section, and a compartmentbelow said floor sections to receive said seats when said floor sectionsare swung to closed position, said compartment also acting as alegreceiving space for attendants when said hinged floor sections areswung rearwardly and forwardly to open position, said compartment havinga floor member to provide a foot rest, said compartment floor memberbeing movable to permit it to be positioned to form a support for saidhinged floor sections when said hinged floor sections are-in closedposition. a

8. In a convertible vehicle of the character described, a pair of hingedfloor sections one of which is adapted to swing rearwardly and the otherforwardly, the rearwardly swinging section having a seat on one sidethereof, a hinged back for said last-mentioned section, a hinged seatfor the other floor section, and a compartment below said floor sectionsto receive said seats and back when said floor sections are swung toclosed position, said compartment also acting as a legreceiving spacefor attendants when said hinged floor sections are swung rearwardly andforwardly to open position, said compartment having a floor member toprovide a foot rest, said compartment floor member being movable topermit it to be positioned to form a support for said hinged fioorsections when said hinged floor sections are in closed position.

9. In a convertible vehicle of the character described, a pair of hingedfloor sections, each of said sections having a seat and back associatedtherewith, and a compartment below said floor sections to receive theseats and backs when said floor sections are in closed position, saidcompartment acting as a leg-receiving space for attendants when saidfloor sections are swung to open position, said compartment having afloor member to provide a foot rest, said compartment floor member beingmovable to permit it to be positioned to form a support for said hingedfloor sections when said hinged floor sections are in closed position.

NATHANIEL W. AUGUSTINE.

